Reviews (4)

Ambiguities and the Fog of War
After the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940, Britain knew that it would be fighting again within Europe, but until an invasion could be made by regular forces, a secret war had to be waged.For this purpose the Special Operations Executive was formed, with the object of clandestine insertion of agents to oppose the advancement of the Nazis.It was a perilous assignment, and agents were told to expect a fifty-fifty chance of dying; as it turned out, they fared better, a 75% survival rate.The section of the SOE devoted to activities within France was the assignment of Vera Atkins, where she was staff officer to the head of the section.Atkins was devoted to the highly secret operation, and only recently have the truths about the work of the SOE (including its many failings) emerged.Atkins took many of the secrets to her grave when she died in 2000.Sarah Helm, an investigative reporter, was able to interview her two years before her death."She didn't tell me much," Helm says."She never told anybody much."There was, however, quite a story, and it involved Atkins's personal secrets as well as military ones.In _A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII_ (Nan A. Talese / Doubleday), Helm has described her efforts to understand the secrets in a long and frustrating search for what made the brilliant and wary Atkins averse, beyond all callings of duty, to letting some secrets go.
A brilliant account of SOE and one of its spies
I've read a lot about World War II and SOE, and this outshines most books. Ms. Helm puts human faces on the dead and betrayed agents, and doesn't mince words when it comes to skewering those who sent them to their deaths. This is brilliantly researched and written, provoking outrageous anger at the novice spy handlers who ignored numerous warnings that networks had been penetrated and who continued sending agents to horrible deaths in concentration camps. Further, it shows their callous nature in covering up their stupidity and never admitting mistakes. There are many lessons here for today's times. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It will stay with me for a long time.

The incredible tale of a true heroine
Both the NY Times (William Grimes) and the Washington Post highly praise this book. It tells the story of two great searches . The first is of the heroine of the book, Vera Atkins who after the War searches in Europe to learn of the fates of the 117 of 400 agents she had helped prepare for their missions of gathering Intelligence for Great Britain against the Nazis. The second is the search of the author Sarah Helm to get the details of the story of her subject, a research which also involved extraordinary effort.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography And Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. France    6. General    7. Great Britain    8. Historical - General    9. Intelligence Operations    10. Military    11. Military - World War II    12. Missing in action    13. Secret service    14. Underground movements    15. Women    16. World War, 1939-1945    17. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (16)

A counterfeit spy
The most respected historian in the field of espionage, Nigel West, studied all of Aline's spy books marketed as nonfiction and concluded "...all four of Aline's books should be regarded as fiction, and nothing more..." Read "Counterfeit Spies, Chapter 3, by Nigel West, 1998.

Fascinating Page-Turner
Written like a fiction novel, this factual, first-person account of a young woman spy during World War II is absolutely enthralling.You'll get a first-hand look into what it's like to be recruited and trained as a spy, then go on your first assignment, mingling with the highest Spanish society while secretly risking your life to uncover essential Axis secrets.The characters in the novel are rich and compelling, and you never know what's going to happen next to the protagonist/ingenue Aline.
A Spanish teacher recommends "The Spy Wore Red"...to ALL!
Reading and re-reading The Spy Wore Red is a wonderful experience!Most of your other reviewers agree, but there are two aspects they seem to miss: the richness of Spanish cultural information and the possibility of a change in role for women.Aline Griffiths is bright, well educated, and departs from traditional women's work to lead a daring, adventurous, downright-dangerous job.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1923-    2. Aline,    3. Biography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Countess of Romanones,    6. General    7. Intelligence Operations    8. Military - World War II    9. Sale Books - Adult    10. Secret service    11. Spain    12. Spies    13. United States    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. Aline    16. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (6)

A Milestone
The author has written two seminal works: Hitlers Spies and The Codebreakers.Both are among the most informative and best written books on intelligence produced to date.Hitler's Spies goes through the convaluted Nazi intelligence community organization by organization.At the end the reader is very well informed on the mission and structure of German WWII intelligence.There is a tremendous amount of information in this book and the author's skillful writing style makes it all seem easy to understand.A masterpiece.

German Military Intelligence from A to Z
In 1978, David Kahn attempted to write the first comprehensive history of German military intelligence in the Second World War.There results are mixed.The author is to be applauded for shedding considerable new light on this heretofore-neglected subject.However, this is an anecdote-driven study, not a comprehensive history.To be sure, Kahn covers virtually every aspect of intelligence collection and analysis in the Third Reich.In itself, the scope of this work is impressive and the reader quickly gains an appreciation for the amount of research required to produce this result. How Hitler lost the battle of the secret services
This is an unrevised reprint of David Khan's 1978 study.It has stood the test of time very well although, inevitably, some material is a bit out of date, for example on ENIGMA.Still, the volume stands as a thorough analysis of the whole panoply of intelligence with which nazi Germany fought world war two. And no-one today would dispute the findings about why Germany performed so badly in the secret war.Hitler underestimated Russia, awaited the Sicily landings in the Balkans and fell for thinking that the Normandy landings were a feint.As Khan makes clear,the nazi high command underestimated intelligence, thinking that only tanks, armies and airplanes mattered to achieve a result.Hitler in particular was unjustifiably arrogant and failed to fund properly spying activities in foreign countries.It was not until mid 1942 that all mail transiting through Germany was opened as a matter of routine.Obviously, German intelligence did have its successes, say in penetrating Resistance movements in occupied Europe and in the early Atlantic U boat campaigns;Doenitz was one of the few nazi leaders to understand the importance of spying. But the hierarchical political structure of the Reich and the disdain of the officer class failed to capitalize on secret information which could have made the war's result more problematical. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Germany    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Intelligence Operations    5. Military - World War II    6. Military intelligence    7. Secret service    8. World War II    9. World War, 1939-1945    10. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (2)

Operation Jedburgh a book thats hard to put down
This is a graet book easy yet informative reading. Auther did his homework when doing the research and interviews for this book . Excellent use of de-classified historical records.
Operation Jedburg
This us the book to read to bring one truly up to date on the behind the lines activity of WW II ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. France    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Intelligence Operations    6. Military    7. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    8. Military - United States    9. Military - World War II    10. Secret service    11. Underground movements    12. United States    13. World War II - Europe    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. History / Military / United States   

Editorial Review

It was not long after the first Japanese bombs fell on the American naval ships at Pearl Harbor that conspiracy theories began to circulate, charging that Franklin Roosevelt and his chief military advisors knew of the impending attack well in advance. Robert Stinnett, who served in the U.S. Navy with distinction during World War II, examines recently declassified American documents and concludes that, far more than merely knowing of the Japanese plan to bomb Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt deliberately steered Japan into war with America.Read more

Reviews (123)

Disturbing
Gives overwhelming proof that FDR provoked the Japanese attack primarily through denying access to natural resources in Indonesia via the Dutch government in exile, and also by giving support to Chinese resistance fighters.The motive behind the provocation was to ensure that the American people would support a war against Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan that they did not wish to be involved in prior to December 7, 1941. Instead of trying to convince the American people that war would be inevitable against Fascism; condescendingly assured of their stupidity, FDR sacrificed 2500 sailors in order to mobilize the nation for war.
A Review of Someof the Reviews.
There is a strong political bit to the negative reviews.It reminds me a little of creationists reviewing an evolutionary biology work.
What our government doesn't want us to know
This book is eye opening in many respects.
Read more

Subjects:  1. (Franklin Delano),    2. Diplomatic history    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Intelligence Operations    6. Intelligence service    7. Military    8. Military - World War II    9. Military History - World War II    10. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack    11. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941    12. Political History    13. Political Process - Leadership    14. Roosevelt, Franklin D    15. United States    16. World War, 1939-1945    17. American history: Second World War    18. History / Military / World War II    19. USA   

Reviews (10)

narrativ collection, mixed quality and coverage
like some other reviewers, this wasn't what i was expecting, but i was reasonably pleased with what i found. this book is a series of narratives by various people who worked at GC&CS (later to become CGCHQ) and Bletchley Park during WWII. their stories typically recount how they were recruited, their nervousness, and their most memorable moments. some authors describe how the codebreaking operations worked, including some of the machinery, which itself was fascinating.
The Secret Weapon That Won The War
After a long period of silence, many books about the accomplishments of Allied forces in breaking the codes and ciphers of German, Italian and Japanese forces in World War II have been published over the last twenty years. Most of these books have been either written by one of the individuals who worked on a few of the specific enemy codes, or an editor who crafted a story by interviewing a number of people who were part of the Allied code breaking effort. Unlike most of other books on the subject, Code Breakers: The Inside Story of Bletchley Park is a collection of 30 first hand accounts about the daily grind and life at Bletchley Park and its outstations written by different individuals who worked there during WWII. The Old Vets Gather for a Last Hurrah
When the gag order was finally lifted circa 1970 on the Bletchley Park operations, a lot of scientific, historical, and technical histories appeared. And there was a great hue and cry among military and political historians that the whole history of the British and American war against Hitlerian Germany would have to be rewritten. Well, much of that has been proven to be just hyperbole but it is generally agreed that the war was shortened by about two years. But the closer the Allies got to Germany the less role Bletchley played for the German forces used landlines for most strategic communications from mid 1944 on. Also they had another machine known as FISH which was not as easily read as Enigma. This book is a collection of personal narratives of life at Bletchley and how tedious most of the work there was, no matter how essential. Harry Hinsley, one of the authors, was a "whiz kid" recruited directly from university and after the war became a professor without ever completing his studies. Over the years he has written the monumental multivolume official history of British intelligence operations in WW II and many historical papers. Alan Stripp, was one of the original operatives and served for many years. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Intelligence Operations    6. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    7. Military - World War II    8. Military Personal Narratives    9. British & Irish history: Second World War    10. Europe    11. European history: Second World War    12. History / Military / World War II    13. History, Other | Military History | WWII    14. Military intelligence    15. Second World War, 1939-1945    16. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Reviews (2)

Classic Operations-Intelligence Counter-deception
The most successful Nazi naval operations depended on stealth (U-boats) and deception (commerce raiders). The Royal Navy's Operational Intelligence Center combined the Nazi "red side" intelligence with the Allied navies' "blue side" operational information to form a fused picture of the war at sea. Patrick Beesly was a verteran of the OIC, personnally responsible for hunting down Hitler's surface commerce raiders. Brilliant, Relevant Today, OpIntel Thrills, Deep Insights
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Cryptography    3. Europe - Great Britain - General    4. Great Britain    5. History    6. History - Military / War    7. History: World    8. Intelligence Operations    9. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    10. Military - World War II    11. Military intelligence    12. Naval History - World War II    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. Europe    15. European history: Second World War    16. History / General    17. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Reviews (4)

Every Veteren Should Read This
I am a patriot and have gone to war for my country.I would do it again all the while thanking God for the good people that work so diligently, as Linda Hunt has, to keep our government honest and out in the open.This is an intriguing book and there is much evidence that things of this nature are still taking place.

Inadequately researched
I have to agree with Robert Carver that at least some of the information in this book is inaccurate. Whether Hunt is an opportunist or not, I cannot say, and that is beside the point. Motives and intentions are matters of speculation; however, I do know for a fact that least some of the information in this book is inaccurate. I do not question Kathleen Sullivan's perspective that this book is objective (though perhaps not "painstakingly" so) nor do I disagree with the position that this should all be brought to light; however, in the tremdendous volume of data processed in writing this book, I do know for a fact that some things, surely without malice, were inaccruately portrayed. Since the reputations of individuals are at stake, I find this unfortunate indeed. Being someone who is going into teaching as a second career, I have been made aware of the importance of telling students to always question the validity of what they read even in history textbooks from school. Before giving credence to what you read in, or cite from this book, please do corroborate the information (especially if it has to do with any one of a very large number of individuals listed by name).

An excellent resource!
Having read many books and articles about the U.S. government's secret recruitment of Nazi scientists and war criminals, I can state - without hesitation - that Linda Hunt's "Secret Agenda" is unusually accurate, painstakingly objective, and well documented.Although her revelations about the creation of NASA by Nazi recruits and documented war criminals may be painful for some individuals who are devoted to, and highly supportive, of our federally funded space agency; the information contained in Secret Agenda should nevertheless be made widely known.Only by learning the truth about the secretive sins of our government's employees and leaders, can we - as citizens - work to ensure that such sins are not repeated in the future. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Brain drain    3. General    4. Germany    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Intelligence Operations    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Recruiting    10. Science And Public Policy    11. Scientists    12. Technology    13. U.S. Government    14. World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (12)

A tedious read
Much interesting information but often getting bogged down in minutia such as aircraft type counts, number and type of personnel in certain offices, etc.It was NOT the kind of book I couldn't lay down.

Combined Fleet Decoded
Combined Fleet Decoded taught me more new material regarding the Japanese navy and the U.S. Intelligence surveying that Japanese navy than I had learned in the past 15 years of reading Second World War books and watching documentary-type DVDs such as the History Channel.That is not a crack at other books, DVDs and the History Channel.Instead, it is support for the depth which Prados examines the conflict - from its genesis twenty years before Pearl Harbor right up through the hostilities.
Pacific Odyssey and the Brith of Mondern Intel
(Reviewed by Patrick L. Moore in American Bar Association National Security Law Report Fall-Winter 1998.) It is surprisingly difficult to write a review of a classic. Without putting too fine a gloss on it, Combined Fleet Decoded (`CFD") should be considered as to intelligence work what Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War is to national naval strategy, quite simply, the epitome of its kind. In it, John Prados shows how modern strategic intelligence practice and theory came of age in World War II and did so primarily in the Pacific. In terms of scope and depth of analysis, along with sheer drama and gutlevel operational practicality, it belongs on the shelf between Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game and Adda Bozeman's Strategic Intelligence and Statecraft.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Cryptography    2. History - Military / War    3. History: World    4. Intelligence Operations    5. Military - World War II    6. Military intelligence    7. Naval History - World War II    8. Naval operations, Japanese    9. United States    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. History / General   

Reviews (1)

Melchoir's Gift
If you are in the least way interested in hisrory or the founding of the intelligence services in the US; this book is a must have.Every page reveals more excitement in WWII Europe.Probably one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Army    2. Biography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. History - Military / War    6. Intelligence Operations    7. Intelligence officers    8. Melchior, Ib    9. Military - General    10. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    11. Personal narratives, American    12. Secret service    13. United States    14. World War, 1939-1945   

Features

• Abridged

Reviews (1)

The OFFICIAL History
For over thirty years after the end of World War II, the real history of Allied military intelligence remained hidden from the public and from all but the smallest handful of historians. The many thousands, who during thewar were "in the know," kept these deep secrets from even theirclosest families. Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. George VI, 1936-1952    3. Great Britain    4. History    5. History - Military / War    6. History: World    7. Intelligence Operations    8. Military - General    9. Military - World War II    10. Secret service    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. British & Irish history: Second World War    13. Europe    14. European history: Second World War    15. History / Great Britain    16. Military intelligence    17. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Reviews (6)

First hand account of a brilliant espionage campaign
Modern novellists would never have thought of this simple yet highly complicated plan to deceive the Germans during World War II. This book is written by Ewen Montagu who actually undertook the whole operation. Due to the fact of its high secrecy it could not first be revealed until the Mid-1950's when the first edition came out. Even then the full story could not be told for one of the other great secrets of WWII (the fact that the British had cracked the German code 'Engima') meant that the progress of the deception was monitored throughout its progress. Famous case
This case is very famous. I remember reading about it in a declassified article in a Swedish book meant to teach intelligence to students of journalism at Lund University.

Fun read, good story
"The Man Who Never Was" is a real page-turner, even though I already knew the basic story. Lots of good information on a well-conceived and -executed intelligence operation that the Germans fell for hook, lineand sinker. Makes me wonder how many failed counterintelligence operationswe suffered to achieve one success? Writing can be a little stuffy in acouple places but on the whole is good. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1901-    2. Great Britain    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Intelligence Operations    6. Military    7. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    8. Military - Naval    9. Military - World War II    10. Montagu, Ewen,    11. Operation Mincemeat    12. Personal narratives, British    13. Secret service    14. World War II    15. World War, 1939-1945    16. Montagu, Ewen   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (8)

These sisters break the glass ceiling in WWII intrigue
For readers who enjoy history (particularly WWII), McIntosh's "Sisterhood of Spies" is a worthwhile experience.The book looks at women in all areas of OSS during WWII in all parts of the globe.McIntosh's writing style is a bit bothersome at times (too much "gung-ho" spirit for me; that's why I only give it three stars) but she knows her stuff and the profiles of these women and their work during the war more than make up for it.I liked the stories of daring (particularly "the lady with the limp" or the episode to steal the naval codes or the woman captured by the Germans).I learned a great deal about hte different aspects of OSS - the R&A, black propaganda (forging postcards to demoralize the families of Japanese soldiers fighting in Burma).McIntosh does a good job of creating a sense of the lifestyle - the pressures, the challenges.She also gives a good bit of detailed "back story" on the women - showing their life before the war, how they got involved with OSS, how their experiences with OSS transformed their lives, and finally, a glimpse of their lives post-war.These women definitely challenged perceived notions of how women could contribute to the war effort.Most all of them encountered "narrow thinking," particularly from the military branches they were working with, and managed to overcome that.I found the stories both fascinating and inspiring.

Less Would Be More
McIntosh starts strong in "Sisterhood of Spies," providing the background of the organization and then composing small vignettes of representative women and thier exploits.As the books goes one, however, she seems to want to include thumbnails (names/backgrounds) of more and more women, and the exciting details of the few become rarer.These women were truly extraordinary, in ways that few people today can imagine, and they certainly deserve recognition.Perhaps McIntosh could have written more about her own interesting history with the OSS and left the other women to an author that felt less emotionally beholden to include everyone.

Excellent OSS information
I don't normally go for "women's history" books, but I've been reading everything I can on the OSS and this seemed like an interesting side of it. With that attitude, I totally underestimated the stories contained within. As expected, there are chapters on individual women who accomplished extraordinary things during the days of the OSS. The greater value, though, is that by telling even a sentence or two about the many, many women who worked as clerks, analysts, drivers, etc., you get a much better view of the structure of the organization. Many intelligence books concentrate on the medal-winning heroic acts. Here you get those stories plus a clear picture of who was recruited and how; how the offices worked; how information was gathered, analyzed, and consumed; and basically what it was like to work in the organization at the levels below superhero. I have a much better understanding of the day-to-day operations from reading this book. (P.S. I am a woman so don't flip out over my opening statement.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. Intelligence Operations    5. Military    6. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    7. Military - United States    8. Military - World War II    9. Office of Strategic Services    10. Personal narratives, American    11. Secret service    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century/WWII    14. Women In The Military    15. Women spies    16. Women's Studies - General    17. Women's Studies - History    18. World War, 1939-1945    19. Espionage & secret services    20. Europe    21. European history: Second World War    22. McIntosh, Elizabeth P    23. USA   

Subjects:  1. Germany    2. Intelligence Operations    3. Latin America    4. Secret service    5. United States    6. World War, 1939-1945   

Subjects:  1. Germany    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. Military    5. Military - World War II    6. Military intelligence    7. Secret service    8. United States    9. World War, 1939-1945    10. American history: Second World War    11. Espionage & secret services    12. Europe    13. European history: Second World War    14. History / Military / World War II    15. Second World War, 1939-1945    16. USA    17. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (2)

purely fictional entertainment
This book is just another attempt at sellinginteresting sounding ,far-fetched assertations.They are many gross mistakes not only in the text,but also in the illustration captions.For instance,one of his captions claims that hitler predicted the Normandy landing at Pas decalais,instead of Normandy.The fact is hitler did indead predict Normandy,while others did not share in his view.Also,a Skorzeny attempt at killing Roosevelt.Hoodwinking hitler makes a great fictional novel based on real people,but it's research and historical accuracy lack.

Simply excellent!
Very well written with a plethora of little-known facts. Breuer uses small chapters constructing t